Meet the Bundesliga overachievers led by an ex-Chelsea analyst

In this exclusive interview, Benjamin Weber, a former analyst under Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea, discusses his decision to pursue a new path that has seen him step out of the shadows to become sporting director at FC Augsburg. "It was always Thomas. I could hide..."

"For sure," Benjamin Weber jokes when asked about Chelsea winning the Champions League in 2021. "I told Mason to turn and to play the pass." He is talking about Mason Mount’s ball for Kai Havertz to score the only goal of the final against Manchester City.

Weber worked as an analyst for Thomas Tuchel at Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea. He describes that period at Stamford Bridge as the best of his life. "To win that title was absolutely amazing. I don't want to make my part too small, nor too big."

Most would have stayed, gone on with Tuchel to Bayern Munich and beyond. Weber, now 43, embarked on a different path. "When you are fighting for the Champions League and finally you win it, what else is there to come? You always need an objective."

As a result, Weber left to become managing director of Paderborn. "I told Thomas. It was tough." And in 2025 he took on a new role as sporting director of Bundesliga club Augsburg. "I don't work just to work. I was curious enough to do something different."

Augsburg are a relatively modest outfit compared to some of Weber's previous employers but they are a major success story in Germany. Their stay in the Bundesliga now extends to 16 consecutive seasons. "And there are only five other teams who can say that."

But last season, Weber's first, was a particular triumph for Augsburg. It was their first top-half finish in a decade. They managed it despite - or perhaps because - the decision was made to change coach midway through the campaign. It was a big call to make.

"It was very difficult," Weber acknowledges. "And emotional because I have been sat on the other side of the table. I know how it feels. It would be easy to hide but I am there to make decisions even if it is tough. We needed something different to get back on track."

Out went Sandro Wagner and in came Manuel Baum instead. Augsburg turned their season around. "We had problems with results and performance but not development. In the end, we were ninth, after many changes last summer, and it worked out."

For Weber, after the glamour of Paris and London, he is now seeing the other side of football in more ways than one. "On the one hand, there was a lot of pressure at the bigger clubs. On the other, for me personally, it was always Thomas. I could hide," he admits.

He had a taste of this at Paderborn. "When you sign a player and you know that the club will only survive if it is the right player, that is pressure. When you lose your job at a small club, and you have a family, that is pressure." At Augsburg, his profile is higher.

"There is more focus on me personally now. I was always a little bit the hidden guy in football. Now I came a little bit into the light. Not the biggest stage, I do not need that. But when we have success, I am part of it. And when we do not, I am also part of it."

The feeling is that he got his first major decision right.